You’re assuming that the purpose of higher ed is to teach job-relevant skills. That is false. Higher Ed is an apprenticeship program for creating new instructor

You’re assuming that the purpose of higher ed is to teach job-relevant skills. That is false. Higher Ed is an apprenticeship program for creating new instructors and researchers. Most people stop that process early before finishing for a variety of very valid reasons. There’s no reason to expect a degree to exactly prepare folks for specific jobs in industry. It turns out that there’s very high correlation between the characteristics that make successful students and those that make successful workers. So a degree is still a useful signal during hiring, but it doesn’t certify a specific level of competency or skill set.